Awareness, or mindfulness, is the keystone of the Buddhist path and of any truly human life. The Buddha's teaching on what awareness is and how to practise it is vast, and profound, and takes us far beyond what we might usually associate with the word 'mindfulness'. It requires a willingness to open our hearts and a good deal of courage to enter up…

Padmavajra's wonderful series on the Dhammapada, the most popular of early Buddhist texts. All of the Buddha's core teachings are here - held in heart and mind there's more than enough in the Dhammapada to take us as far in our practice as we can imagine, and then on beyond... Excerpted from the talk Mindfulness is the Way to the Deathless as part …

Beautifully read by Sangharakshita, these readings are taken from the oldest scriptural texts and evoke the real spirit of early Buddhism - the struggles, the joys and the triumphs of ordinary people who followed the path to Truth. Appears in Readings from the Pali Canon recorded in 2000 to mark the Digital Legacy project to begin transferring Dhar…

Ratnaghosha explores the Buddha’s vision of spiritual community as it is expressed in verses 197, 198 and 199 of the Dhammapada. This is a comprehensive survey of the Buddha's teaching but is also replete with practical advice about how we might apply this to our lives today - and finishes on a very encouraging note. Recorded at the Dublin Buddhist…

Flowers naturally grow towards the light. The more we open to our true potential the more we open to the light of truth, of love, and of awareness. Our potential to grow is inherent in our very being. Here, Suryagupta shares reflections on verses from the Flowers chapter of the Dhammapada, or ‘Way of Truth’. Excerpted from the talk entitled How Flo…

"As many garlands are made from a heap of flowers, so one who is a mortal born should perform many ethically skilful deeds" - Dhammapada. Jvalamalini shares the effects of the story of Vasakha from the Dhammapada and draws out the significance for our sangha today. Excerpted from the talk As Garlands From a Heap of Flowers given at the Bristol Budd…

In this talk Padmavajra explores the first two verses of the Dhammapada and their far reaching implications. He explores how we create not only our own happiness or suffering through our actions but also how we create worlds, worlds of suffering or worlds conducive to human growth and even freedom. He then describes how the Bodhisattva works tirele…

Kusalasara explores the opening verses of the Dhammapada, or ‘Way of Truth’ showing a path of discovery of the pure mind and the impure mind. Excerpted from the talk entitled The Essential Revolution given at London Buddhist Centre as part of the series The Dhammapada, 2022. *** Subscribe to our Dharmabytes podcast: On Apple Podcasts | On Spotify |…

This is an appropriately pithy talk by Surata on one of the most popular and regarded of the early Buddhist suttas, The 'Dhammapada'. The images of the verses and their direct relevance to our lives makes this sutta an indispensable aide memoire to practice – and Surata's consideration of it is a handy primer for newcomers to the text, as well as a…

The Buddha's wisdom can be summarised by the three lakshanas, this is not nihilistic, but an honest recognition of the way things are. Change is inherent in life, the only choice we have is whether we change for the better! To open to this change we need confidence, which we can find in the dharma and the sangha. Jnanadhara gave this talk at a Youn…

Bodhinaga picks up the theme 'Tantra for Today' by pulling out his guts and setting them alight (not literally). Exploring what it means to practice the Dharma with the whole of yourself, come and hear about transforming messy bits like secret fear and hot emotions like burning rage! Excerpted from the talk Blood, Bones, and Halos of Fire given at …

Moksatara introduces the dakini, the tantric embodiment of what's possible when all of our energy is completely engaged, alive and flowing. In order to meet the dakinis we must travel to where they dwell: the cremation grounds, where bodies are taken to be burnt. The deepest, darkest energies to be transformed are associated with fear. By deliberat…

Subhadramati starts with the story of the Snow Queen and takes us on an exploration of imagination and Dharmic responsiveness, faith and wisdom. She shows how it is imagination that removes the twin thorns of ignorance and craving, that allows us to ascend towards the beauty of the Three Jewels. This talk was given on a Mythic Context Retreat at Ti…

In a famous passage in the Itivutakka The Buddha compares Metta to the radiance of the sun and moon. He says that metta ‘shines and burns and blazes forth in surpassing all other acts of good’ and that ‘Whoever sets their mind to make goodwill grow Boundless’ ...will become Enlightened! Excerpted from the talk All Beings Without Exception given at …

Aryadasa discusses his experience of moving through fear in order to live a life more dedicated to love and friendship. He talks about the difficulties involved in this transition and the fruits that come from working through such difficulties. Excerpted from the talk Fearless Love - A Personal Talk by Aryadasa given at Padmaloka Retreat Centre, 20…

In early 2020, only weeks preceding the full onslaught of the pandemic, Vajrin survived a catastrophic fall from a bike deep within New Zealand bush. Paralysed from the chest down and stranded in Auckland for months of lockdown, he called upon the Dharma. Despite four decades of practice, it didn’t seem to help. Or did it? …in ways he hadn’t predic…

Fresh off a three-week solitary retreat, Vajragupta (m) shares, in a very personal and heart-felt way, what it was like, and what happened during that time. Coming to terms with his mother's slide into dementia, evoking the strangeness of dreams and memories, describing the sheer vividness of experience on retreat, and reflecting on both the joy an…

Sangharakshita describes how when faced with a tremendous fear, one with no apparent cause or object, how the Buddha’s example of sitting with it until it subsides leads to determination, an essential heroic quality in the spiritual aspirant's quest for Enlightenment. Excerpted from the talk The Heroic Ideal in Buddhism given in 1969. *** Subscribe…

Suryagupta shares personal reflections on death and dying, discovering patterns in the human condition, and relates this to the life of the Buddha. This talk was given as a part of the London Buddhist Centre’s Winter Retreat 2023, part of the series The Noble Quest, 2023. *** Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast: On Apple Podcasts | On Spot…

Fearlessness is courage in the face of fear, not the absence of fear. When we are with someone who is dying, we are confronted by our own death. Our sense of self is fundamentally brought into question as we face our core spiritual problem: the truth of insubstantiality and impermanence. Vidyamala gives a strong account of working with suffering an…

Lokeshvara shares how the impact of fear and anxiety led him to learn to meditate. Fear is a universal emotion that can be quite debilitating, but seen in another way, it’s like a little mini-death and an opportunity for Dharma practice. Excerpted from the talk Gesture of Fearlessness given at Buddhafield East, 2010. *** Subscribe to our Dharmabyte…

In this talk, Sanghagita takes us on a journey into the cremation ground. A fearful place filled with demons and powerful natural forces, and also the place where we can discover true freedom. Talk given at Sheffield Buddhist Centre, 2023. *** Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast: On Apple Podcasts | On Spotify | On Google Podcasts A full, …

Vajragupta shares how her creativity and devotion flow to (and from) her collection of Barbies. Drawing on the imagery, chakras and mantras of the Five Wisdom Queens, she leads a meditation evoking each of their qualities in turn. Excerpted from the talk Barbies As the Five Wisdom Queens given at Norwich Buddhist Centre, 2024. *** Subscribe to our …

Ratnaprabha tells the story of Queen Vaidehi languishing in prison and longing for a better world. The Buddha teaches her to meditate on the land of Bliss, Amitabha's Pureland. What is the significance of Pureland Buddhism? Excerpted from the talk Birdsong Dharma given at West London Buddhist Centre, 2018. *** Subscribe to our Dharmabytes podcast: …

Maitrisiddhi explores Shinjin as faith, bodhicitta and wisdom. What happens when the conditioned mind lets up for a bit? Experiences of beauty, openness, love, desire to go for refuge and devotion naturally arise; we experience contact with ‘amida’, the quality of limitlessness. Are those experiences ‘ours’ – or something else? This talk was given …

In answering the question 'What is Buddhism?', Sangharakshita identifies higher evolution - the development of higher states of consciousness - with the twelve links in the progressive trend of the Buddha's teaching of conditioned co-production. Here he defines the second link, that of faith, translated from the sanskrit shraddha. Excerpted from th…

Here Paramartha shares a story illustrating Milarepa as teacher, master, vertical kalyana mitra, in relation to Rechungpa, known as his ‘moonlight disciple’. A young but seasoned practitioner, a cotton-clad yogi, devoted to his teacher, but who was a bit head-strong and stuck in his practice. Excerpted from the talk Rechungpa's Unusual Faith given …

Mahamani provides an overview of the Three Myths of the spiritual life: self-development, self-surrender, and self-discovery. These offer us three paradigm-shifts – three world-views - that can open us into radical freedom. What, for us, allows the open dimension of being to arise? The Three Myths invite us to trust and have deeper confidence in di…

Faith is the sort of emotional response that you have when you are confronted by the embodiment of Enlightenment. Vajragupta shares a story from the life of Milarepa. Excerpted from the talk Faith: the Emotional Response That You Have When You Are Confronted by the Embodiment of Enlightenment given at Mid Essex Buddhist Centre, 2021. *** Subscribe …

A lover of chocolate, trees and poetry, Jayaraja explores how to make the Buddha’s teaching real in our lives by looking at the connection between courage and shraddha, commonly translated as 'faith'. Excerpted from the talk Courage, Vulnerability and Healing Our Tempestuous World given as part of the series Seeds of the Heart given in the Dharma P…

A delightful, uplifting and heartfelt talk from Saraha offering three pieces of sage advice for the spiritual life. Not to be missed. This talk was given at Birmingham Buddhist Centre, 2018. *** Subscribe to our Free Buddhist Audio podcast: On Apple Podcasts | On Spotify | On Google Podcasts A full, curated, quality Dharma talk, every week. 3,000,0…